Of Lockdowns and Lilies

I thought Yves Rocher's Lily of the Valley eau de toilette was discontinued. But the bright Yves Rocher store in the Square One (Mississauga) mall produced two bottlesof the eau de toilette. These couple of months of closure must have got the staff cleaning out their inventory, and fortunately they found these bottles.

I bought one of the bottles at its reduced price, and it should keep me scented through the summer (and fall?).

I am sorry the perfume is discontinued. I will now embark on a search for a light, fresh eau de toilette, which should be an adventure.

This lockdown has certainly given us a second chance at some things.

Here are two sites which sing the praises of the eau de toilette:

An established on-line perfume reviewer, Basenotes (as in the base notes of a perfume) has this to say about these notes:

Green notes, Lily of the valley, Pink pepper, Bergamot, Lemon

And The Perfume Girl adds more:

Lily of the valley, bergamot, lemon, rose hips

The pink pepper is meant to ground the perfume a little, from being too intoxicatingly floral, and the lemon adds that extra freshness.

The bottle is a straightforward clear glass, in a rectangular shape, but with a lovely plant-like detail, which is actually Yves Rocher's logo, with the initials YR forming a plant within a circle. The liquid is a fresh, pale green viewed through clear glass.



Here are photos I took of the Faberge Lily of the Valley exhibition in 2014 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which was part of a rotating selection of items from The Met collections. This specific collection is the European Sculpture and Decorative Arts' Metalworks collections.




[Photos By: KPA]

Details of the work:
Imperial Lilies-of-the-Valley Basket
House of Carl Fabergé
August Wilhelm Holmström (1829–1903)

Holmström, August Wilhelm (1829-1903) a Finnish workmaster, born in Helsinki, Finland.
Was appointed chief jeweler by Gustav Fabergé in 1857. His mark is 'AH'.

A Fabergé workmaster is a craftsman who owned his own workshop and produced jewelry, silver or objets d'art for the House of Fabergé.[Source]

Russian, St. Petersburg
Yellow and green gold, silver, nephrite, pearl, rose-cut diamond; 1896.
Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation

Palm Sunday

Title: Palmesel
Date: 15th century
Geography: Made in Franconia, Germany
Medium: Limewood with paint
Dimensions:O verall (w/ base): 61 1/2 x 23 3/4 x 54 1/2 in., 182lb.
Classification:Sculpture-Wood
Location: The Cloisters Collection, New York

[Photo By: KPA]

From the Back-Window '291'

From the Back-Window '291'
1915
Platinum print
Dimensions: 24.5 x 19.4 cm (image) 25.2 x 20.2 cm (paper)
Alfred Stieglitz Collection [more information here]

291 Gallery, Promoter of Modern Art

Stieglitz himself became editor and publisher of Camera Work (1902-17), Photo-Secession's high-quality magazine - which rapidly became an important forum of modern art - and also staged numerous exhibitions in partnership with Steichen, with whom he set up the venue "Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession", in 1905. It soon became known as "291" after its address on Fifth Avenue. Through his writing, exhibitions, and other social networking, Stieglitz became a strong supporter of creative photography, as well as avant-garde art generally, and went to great efforts to inform modern artists in America, about the latest modern art movements, notably Cubism (1908-14), Futurism (c.1909-14), Dada (1916-24), as well as works by modernist 20th century sculptors. Indeed, during the decade 1905-1914, "291" metamorphosed from being an outlet for exhibiting Photo-Secessionist photography, to being the foremost centre for modern European and American artists. With the advice of Steichen, Marius de Zayas, and Max Weber, all of whom had contacts with artists in France, "291" became the first place in America to showcase works by the Fauvist Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the Post-Impressionist Cezanne (1839-1906), the naif painter Henri Rousseau (Le Douanier) (1844-1910), the Cubists Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and Francis Picabia (1879-1953), as well as the famous sculptors Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) and Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957). In addition, he also promoted representational and abstract paintings by modernist American artists including the master watercolourist John Marin (1870-1953), as well as Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), Arthur Dove (1880-1946), Alfred H Maurer (1868-1932), Abraham Walkowitz (1878-1965), Charles Demuth (1883-1935), and others. [text source]

Beauty and Aesthetics Matter Quite a Bit

Church of the Holy Innocents
128 West 37th Street
New York

---

Ms. Asrat,

I really enjoy your blog. It’s changed how I think and that doesn’t happen
every day. I’ve begun drawing and pl[a]ying music again after a long hiatus
because you’ve convinced me that beauty and aesthetics do matter, and they
matter quite a bit. I’ve been back in school for civil engineering for a
year now, I was hoping to find out what makes these people tick, these
people who make these hideous things, and to see if there was anything I
could do about it.

[...]

Have you been to a traditional Latin high mass at the Church of the Holy
Innocents in Midtown Manhattan?

Thanks for making so much grist for the mill,

D...

------------

Dear D...

Thanks so much for your encouraging words. Yes beauty and aesthetics matter quite a bit!

[...]

I haven't been to the Church of the Holy Innocents, although I am sure I have walked past it. I'm sure I remember seeing the beautiful exterior and walking up to have a closer look. And the name sounds very familiar.

[...]

Keep up the studies. Despite all the ugly buildings, there is a wealth of information available through schools and libraries, and we can make our own creations. Don't be discouraged by the direction your professors will undoubtedly take, which is to teach you how to build those ugly buildings (you might even get some Fs!). But once you're done, you can forge ahead and build those beautiful buildings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Kidist

Columbus

Columbus Circle, New York
[Photo By: KPA]

Activism In The Name of Our God

Ephesians 6:10-17

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

---

From: reclaimbeauty@gmail.com
To: nando.iannicca@mississauga.ca, mayor@mississauga.ca, carolyn.parrish@mississauga.ca, 12div.communitystation@peelpolice.ca, john.kovac@mississauga.ca, stan.zigelstein@StanzLaw.ca
May 13 at 6:30 AM

--------------------------------------

To the parties concerned:

This email is concerning my article:
Covert Satanic Imagery in the New Art Gallery of Mississauga Exhibit at the website Reclaiming Beauty.

I recently emailed you (please see below my email) about the difficulties I had in entering the Art Gallery of Mississauga and in viewing their exhibitions in recent months. As I explained in the email, I was perceived a "threat" to the gallery simply for being critical towards some of the gallery's exhibits and artists.

As an artist myself, I have been following contemporary art culture for over a decade, I have written my observations both on my blog and in national and international journals. And I have presented my ideas in prestigious international conferences and groups.

I don't mince words, as I believe direct truth is the best approach. And for this reason, I was given a warning by the Art Gallery of Mississauga's director Mandy Salter that my observations on Reclaiming Beauty are a "threat" to the gallery and to its staff, and that I was no longer to attend its exhibitions and functions. If I do enter the gallery, I would be removed from its premises by the Peel police.

I wasn't concerned by this antagonistic communication since thanks to modern media, I am able to view close to 100% of the AGM's exhibits and other activities online.

And similarly, I am able to make my observations and reach a far wider audience through my own online forum rather than attending the infrequent AGM panels.

It is for this reason that I have posted an article on the approach that the AGM is taking in its current exhibition (and recent exhibitions - dating back about a year and a half).

I find that the AGM has been covertly soliciting and exhibiting material related to Satanic and witchcraft aligned artists, and that perhaps some of its staff are indeed members of such nefarious groups.

The Canadian culture, despite multiculturalism, is based on the Western Christian cultural and societal heritage. Part of the AGM's agenda is to subvert this Judeo Christian heritage and introduce other gods and belief systems into our society.

Art is one of the first platforms where new ideas and subversive belief systems are introduced.

Please pay attention to the AGM's future actives. If they (and you) insist on multiculturalism, then our Christian God and heritage should have equal presence in the AGM's activities.

So far we have none.

Thank you. And God bless you.

Kidist Paulos Asrat
Artist, Activist, and Writer
Reclaiming Beauty

---

On Thursday, May 10, 2018, 4:59:42 AM EDT, reclaimbeauty@gmail.com wrote:


Dear concerned parties,

Please view the email correspondence I had with the Art Gallery of Mississauga after I visited their recent exhibition. have forwarded the emails at the end of this letter.

On Tuesday May 8th around 11am, I went to the Art Gallery of Mississauga to view the exhibition seeping upwards, rupturing the surface by Daniele Dennis, as well as the XIT-RM installation Jahez | Dowery by Mariam Magsi.

I followed all the gallery's basic protocol, and spent about 40 minutes studying the exhibition while taking notes on my notepad. At the end of my tour, I had a couple of questions to ask the staff and I approached the reception desk. Both my questions were on the musical scores which accompanied Daniele Dennis' and Lotte Meret Effinger's videos.

An assistant came over and said she didn't know, and would ask Mandy Salter, the gallery's director and curator. Ms. Salter came through and, after some pleasant greetings, she accompanied me to the back of the gallery to Effinger's video and pointed out to me the music composer (Florian Meyer). She said that she wasn't involved in the curation of Dennis' piece and gave me the email for Kendra Ainsworth, who is the curator for contemporary.

I thanked her, made a brief final tour, and left the gallery, thanking the receptionist on my way out. I went next door to the C-Cafe for a short while before resuming my other activities.

Once home late that afternoon I composed a careful email to Ms. Ainsworth so that my technical question was clearly worded, and I was expectantly waiting her reply. I also left a Facebook message to Daniele Dennis since her website has no way to contact her.

As an artist, I am curious and interested about many aspects of art exhibitions: their subject matter, the methods used, the technical details of the pieces, and the artists' backgrounds and training.

Artists approach and depict difficult topics, such as Dennis covering her face with pink cotton candy, and Meyer videotaping various aspects of bodily fluids. And they often provide little explanation. I understand this, since I prefer that audiences come out their own explanations and thoughts. But I always welcome questions and even opinions, ready to tackle the difficult, technical queries as well as the unpleasant negative feedback. That is par for the course for artists. We come many times critiquing society through our art, but society also has that same right to critique our work (and even us!) especially if we exhibited in public, and in publicly funded organizations like the AGM.

Ms. Salter remarks about "the nature" of my reviews of some (of course not all) of the works exhibited at the AGM are simply a way of silencing what she determines to be unfavourable criticism of the AGM's programs. Any posts I have printed on individual members of her staff are related to the work they present, and the manner in which they present the gallery's work, and are not personal.

She has defamed me without trial or jury, as promoting "hate propaganda," which she has determined to be a criminal act. And with this, arbitrary, judgment, she has criminalized my person, and tainted my citizenship in Mississauga, for simply making educated and expert (I am an artist!) observations about the gallery.

There is some irony in that!

But that is the least of my worries. What concerns me is that artistic progress cannot occur if open discussion and observation, presented boldly and honestly, and in person, before all the parties involved is curtailed. If artists cannot critique each other within their own communities, and those who are critiqued cannot accept these critiques at face value, then all we will have is a group of people who assemble because they agree with each other, and those who do not agree wth that pervasive (or pre-determined) viewpoint are criminalized and silenced as "haters."

The only place where this was acceptable was Soviet Russia.

My task as an artist is to do exactly what Ms. Salter "allows" me to do on my blog but not in the real world, where such actions are much more useful for everyone concerned: the critics, the ones being critiqued, and the administrative and managing bodies of art institutions, and the institutions themselves.

I have been doing so for about fifteen years now, providing some lucid and insightful contributions to the art world through my blogs, my longer published articles, and my presentations to large academic audiences. And I will continue to do so.

Sincerely,
Kidist Paulos Asrat

- Reclaiming Beauty
- Society for the Reclamation of Western Beauty
- Reclaiming Beauty Designs
- Reclaiming Beauty Photographs
- Reclaiming Beauty Articles


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mandy Salter
Date: Wed, May 9, 2018 at 12:00 PM
Subject: Kidist Asrat - no longer permitted entry to the AGM premises or events
To: Kidist Paulos Asrat
Cc: Ryerson Maybee , Susan Legge , Sadaf Zuberi


Hello Ms. Asrat,

I had emailed you some months back expressing the AGM’s concern with the nature of your reviews and commentary for the AGM’s programmes, staff, artists and community. I had clearly articulated at the time that if the hateful and insulting tone of many of your blog posts, in regards to AGM content, staff and or community did not cease, you would be no longer welcome at the AGM. While you certainly have the right to freedom of speech, the AGM also has the right to not be defamed and or the recipient of hate propaganda.

As you have continued to criticize, defame and generally create an unsafe space for many at the AGM, you will no longer be permitted to enter the AGM premises under the Trespass to Property Act, RSO 1990, c. T.21 - Ontario.ca

If you are to enter the AGM premises at any time in the future, you will be escorted off the property immediately by City Security.

Mandy Salter

Mandy Salter MA ISA

Director/Curator


T. (905) 896 5507

E. mandy.salter@mississauga.ca

______________________________ ______________________________ ____


From: Kidist Paulos Asrat [mailto:eighthpictures@gmail. com]

Sent: 2018/05/09 3:53 AM
To: Kendra Ainsworth
Cc: Mandy Salter
Subject: Daniele Dennis



Hi Kendra,



I was at the AGM yesterday afternoon and saw Daniele Dennis' video. I asked the staff a couple of questions and they said that you might have the answers.

- I understand that the video was about 10 minutes long and that it was looped (set to replay).

The accompanying music was a Verdi piece according to Mandy:
- What was the actual piece, and the movement

- Were the images set to the music, i.e. the music ended as the images ended and was re-looped accordingly

- Or was the music simply following the images and it re-looped before they ended.

The main question is: what is the technical (editing) relationship between the video's images and sound (music).

Thanks,

Kidist

Magnolias in Central Park

More Magnolias!

In Central Park, March 2016, at dusk.


Magnolias at Dusk
Central Park, New York
March 2016
[Photo By: KPA]

Spring in Central Park

Start of Dusk
Central Park, New York
Spring 2016
[Photo By: KPA]

Waiting For Spring

Magnolias at Dusk
Central Park, New York
March 2016
[Photo By: KPA]

"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle"

Joan of Arc Statue
Riverside Drive, New York
[Photo By: KPA]

Psalm 144

Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.

2 He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples[a] under me.

3 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?

4 They are like a breath;
their days are like a fleeting shadow.

5 Part your heavens, Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.

6 Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;
shoot your arrows and rout them.

7 Reach down your hand from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters,
from the hands of foreigners

8 whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.

9 I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,

10 to the One who gives victory to kings,
who delivers his servant David.
From the deadly sword

11 deliver me;
rescue me from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.

12 Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.

13 Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;

14 our oxen will draw heavy loads.[b]
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.

15 Blessed is the people of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.

Spring Willows

Spring Willows
Central Park, New York
Late March 2016
[Photo By KPAl]

Tough Beauty in NYC

"Upper West Side" NYC Nail Polish

This is a post I wrote in 2011:

Tough Beauty in NYC

There is a make-up brand called New York Color (abbreviated simply as NYC which looks like it stand for New York City). Their In a New York Color Minute nail polish - meant to dry in a minute - are the most fun (if that is a word to use for make-up) since they're all named after neighborhoods in Manhattan, which is of course synonymous with NYC.

Imagine wearing the “East Village” turquoise blue, or the “Park Avenue” gray, and living the sophisticated life of a Park Avenue socialite or an East Village artist vicariously through the nail polish.

Toronto Color (abbreviated as TC) just doesn't cut it. Not least because TC doesn't mean anything. During tourist season, T.O. - as in Toronto, Ontario - crops up more as a gimmick than a custom. And even if there were a huge campaign to recognize TO (and a catchy TOC for a make-up line?), what Toronto locations would have the same effect as Prospect Street or simply Uptown?

These are the NYC colors and names that caught my attention:

- Mulberry Street - beige
- Central Park - pale orange/pink
- Wall Street - pale translucent pink
- Prospect Park - glittery pink
- Spring Street - orange
- Times Square - red
- Park Avenue - gray
- Fashion Avenue - fuchsia
- Lincoln Square - lavender
- Uptown - dusty pink

The only problem I have is with the “Wall Street” very pale pink. I would have thought that female Wall Street workers would be more bold.

The NYC make-up line is very cheap. The product labels say: "Designed in New York. Made in the U.S.A. Dist. Coty US LLC: New York, NY 10016." I would think that "Made in the USA" has a lot to do with the low prices.

So much for cheap Chinese products. I would support Donald Trump's presidency purely for his stand against them, and his promise to reduce the Chinese hegemony on our daily products while building up Made in the USA.

Here is Trump talking about China and cheap Chinese products on CNN:

They're making stuff that you see being sold all the time on Fifth Avenue, copying various, you know, whether it's Chanel or whatever it may be, the brands, and just selling it ad - ad nauseum. I mean this is a country that is ripping off the United States like nobody other than OPEC has ever done before.

These are not our friends. These are our enemies. These are not people that understand niceness. And the only thing you can do, Wolf [Blizter], to get their attention is to say either we're not going to trade with you any further or, in the alternative, we're going to tax your products as they come into the United States...

We would - I would lower the taxes for people in this country and corporations in this country and let China and some of the other countries that are ripping us off and making hundreds of billions of dollars a year, let them pay...

They're going to make General Motors build the cars in China. They're not going to let China - they're not going to let General Motors take their cars from this country and sell them in China. They want General Motors to give up all of its intellectual rights and at the same time have Chinese workers build the cars, something which we are not doing, to that extent. If you look at what's happening with China and what they're selling to this country - or take South Korea, with the television sets and everything else, they're making it over there. China wants General Motors to build the cars in China.

At the end, Wolf Blitzer asks Trump if he's going to run for the US presidency. Trump answers that he's "giving it serious thought." Since then, Trump has said that he will officially announce his bid for the presidency on the finale of his show "Celebrity Apprentice," a show which I'm sure taught him some hard lessons about race reality in America, and in the West in general. Trump may seem to have brushed off all those ugly "celebrity" incidents, but as a hardened businessman, I don't for a (New York) minute think he will take any of them lightly.

Palm Sunday

Palmesel: German for Palm Donkey
Depicting Christ's entry into Jerusalem

Date: 15th century
Geography: Made in Franconia, Germany
Culture: German
Medium: Limewood with paint
Dimensions: Overall (w/ base): 61 1/2 x 23 3/4 x 54 1/2 in., 182lb. (156.2 x 60.3 x 138.4 cm, 82554.7g)
Classification: Sculpture-Wood
Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1955

[Photo By: KPA
The Cloisters, New York
March 2016]

Matthew 21: 1-17

1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples,
2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me.
3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.
4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.
6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them,
7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.
8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way.
9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.
10 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this?
11 And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.
12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them.
15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the son of David; they were sore displeased,
16 And said unto him, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?
17 And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

Daffodils

Central Park, New York
March 2017
[Photo By: KPA]

Early Morning on the Upper West Side

Early Morning on the Upper West Side (110th St)
March 2017
[Photo By: KPA]

Early Morning on the Upper West Side

Early Morning on the Upper West Side (110th St)
March 2017
[Photo By: KPA]

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc Statue On Riverside Drive
Taking on New York City!
[Photo By: KPA
March 2017]

"That the Man of God May Be Complete, Equipped for Every Good Work"

Chrysler Building Reflection, New York
[Photo By: KPA
March, 2017]

2 Timothy 3:17

That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

The Chrysler, The New York Public Library and the Twin Towers

The Chrysler, The New York Public Library and the Twin Towers
Photo By: KPA
March 2017

Shadowing Lincoln Center

Shadowing Lincoln Center
[Photo By: KPA
2017]